Recognition

Our pro bono work and philanthropy have garnered numerous awards and honors, including the following more recent recognitions:

2011

• WilmerHale was among 14 law firms to receive the National Legal Aid & Defender Association’s (NLADA) 2011 Beacon of Justice Award. This year, the Beacon of Justice Award—which changes its focus each year—recognized firms that have innovative public-private partnerships that protect equal justice for all through appellate litigation.
• Sanctuary for Families selected WilmerHale Counsel Sarah Pfuhl as a recipient of this year’s Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Advocacy, for her outstanding legal work on behalf of Sanctuary for Families clients.
• The Boston Business Journal named WilmerHale to its list of the “Largest Charitable Contributors in Massachusetts.” The firm ranked third among all eligible Massachusetts companies for in-kind giving, and was the second largest overall contributor among area law firms.
• The District of Columbia Bar presented its 2011 Frederick B. Abramson Award to WilmerHale for the firm’s participation in the DC Bar Pro Bono Program’s Education Initiative.
• The firm was presented the Julian T. Houston Award by nonprofit Roxbury Youthworks, Inc. for its continuous and exemplary legal representation of the organization and commitment to empowering youth.
• WilmerHale received The Child Welfare League of America’s (CWLA) annual National Corporate Advocate of the Year Award. The firm was recognized for providing unsurpassed pro bono service to fight laws that prevent gay, lesbian and unmarried families from providing care and homes to children in need.
• The DC Circuit Judicial Conference awarded WilmerHale for exemplary pro bono service at the eighth annual "40 at 50" Judicial Pro Bono Recognition Breakfast. The firm was one of 30 law firms in 2010 with a Washington, DC office of at least 25 attorneys to achieve a rate of 40 percent of their DC-based lawyers performing 50 or more hours of free legal services for those unable to pay for an attorney.

• The Legal Services NYC held its annual Pro Bono Recognition Awards Breakfast, at which five WilmerHale lawyers were recognized for their work on pro bono matters in partnership with Legal Services NYC over the past year: Partner Philip Anker, Senior Associate Michelle Goldis, Associate Jason Hirsch, Senior Associate Julia Lipez and Associate Lipi Shah.
• The National Center for State Courts recognized WilmerHale for providing 30 years of support of its programs at the Annual Recognition Luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., with guests including state chief justices, members of the NCSC Board of Directors, corporate general counsels, law firm and individual supporters of the National Center for State Courts.
• The American Constitution Society's (ACS) Boston Lawyer Chapter recognized WilmerHale for its long-standing commitment to pubic and pro bono service. The ACS specifically recognized a team of WilmerHale attorneys for their representation of the petitioners in Boumediene v. Bush to successfully secure justice for inmates at Guantanamo Bay.
• WilmerHale was honored with the 2010 Robert B. Fraser Award for Pro Bono Excellence by the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts, Inc. (VLA). Partner Don Steinberg, chair of the IP Department, accepted the award on behalf of the firm at a reception in June.
• WilmerHale was recently honored with the John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award from the American Bar Association's Litigation Section. The award is presented to individuals and law firms who have made "outstanding contributions to the quality of justice in their communities, ensuring that the legal system is open and available to all." Since 2001, only four other firms have received the award. The Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that assist prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing, nominated WilmerHale for the award based on our work on behalf of Martin Tankleff and Dewey Bozella.
• The American Lawyer published its annual Pro Bono listing, in which WilmerHale moved up one spot in the rankings to eighth among the AmLaw 100 firms. This ranking is based on the average pro bono hours per lawyer and the percentage of lawyers with more than 20 pro bono hours last year.
• WilmerHale received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs’ Wiley A. Branton Luncheon, in recognition of the firm’s pro bono efforts. Specifically, the firm was recognized for its work in collaboration with the committee on a pro bono matter for client Emile Mazloum, an American citizen of Lebanese descent who filed a civil rights claim against the District of Columbia and other defendants following an incident of police brutality and anti-Arab violence at a Washington DC nightclub.
• The International Arbitration practice of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP was awarded Pro Bono Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2010 in London. The award was for the firm's work on behalf of The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The firm’s International Arbitration Group together with the Public International Law & Policy Group, represented the SPLM/A in an arbitration against the Government of Sudan over the definition and delimitation of the Abyei Area, a territory roughly the size of Belgium in south-central Sudan.
• WilmerHale was recently selected as one of four companies in Massachusetts chosen by Junior Achievement to be inducted into their Boston Business Hall of Fame, for outstanding business practice and community involvement.
• WilmerHale was presented with the “Maya Way Award for Community Service,” and recognized as a social justice champion and community partner. WilmerHale established a formal multi-year partnership with Maya Angelou Public Charter School (MAPCS) in 2008, which allows the firm to deepen its work with teachers, staff and the youth, collaborating on how the firm can be helpful in their mission. The firm supports MAPCS on many different levels to meet their needs, including annual unrestricted funding, pro bono work, in-kind donations and volunteer services.
• WilmerHale was recently honored by City Year at its inaugural Legal Community Leadership Breakfast in Boston, MA. The firm was recognized for 20 years of service representing City Year as its pro-bono national counsel. City Year was founded in Boston in 1988. Its mission is to unite young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world.

• WilmerHale was honored with the 2009 Outstanding Pro Bono Law Firm Award by the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR). PAIR is a nationally recognized model that works to secure safety and freedom for asylum-seekers who have fled from persecution throughout the world and to promote the rights of immigrants unjustly detained.
  
• The Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs presented WilmerHale with an "Outstanding Achievement Award" for our work in representing Liem Truong against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for violation of the federal Family & Medical Leave Act.
  
• WilmerHale has consistently ranked in the American Lawyer Pro Bono Scorecard's list of the top firms for pro bono, most recently ranking 9 out of 100 law firms on the 2009 Pro Bono Scorecard.
  
• The firm was included in the annual American Lawyer "A-List", a compilation of the leading US firms and honoring overall excellence, including financial success, commitment to pro bono work, workforce diversity and the training and development of younger lawyers.
  
• The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project honored the legal team that represented Marty Tankleff at their Second Annual Awards Luncheon, receiving the Defender of Innocence award. 
  
• The Boston Business Journal named WilmerHale the "Area's Largest Pro Bono Law Firm" on their 2009 list, comprised of 25 local law firms. The rankings were based on the number of pro bono hours worked in Massachusetts in 2008. 
  
• The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) presented WilmerHale with its 2009 Pro Bono Counsel Award at the McKinney-Vento Awards Dinner in Washington DC.
• The Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs recognized WilmerHale with two Outstanding Achievement awards for pro bono work on behalf of the Committee in Mazloum v. District of Columbia and Spray v. S Corp.
  
• At the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference, the firm received the Daniel M. Gribbon Pro Bono Advocacy Award for work on behalf of our pro bono client, Timothy Naegele.
• WilmerHale was presented with the 2008 National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) Beacon of Justice Award in recognition of our significant and exemplary commitment to providing pro bono representation to people on death row.